On this day in 1917, French Impressionism artist Edgar Degas died in Paris at the age of 83. Born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar de Gas on 19 July 1834 in Paris. My favorite Degas paintings include: The New Orleans Cotton Exchange, At the Races, Horses in a Meadow, The Singer with the Glove, Young Spartans Exercising and After the Bath, Woman Drying Her Nape. The Final Footprint – Degas is entombed in the Famille de Gas private mausoleum in the Cimetiere de Montmartre in Paris. Other notable final footprints at Montmartre include composer Hector Berlioz, French singer Dalida, artist Edgar Degas, author Alexandre Dumas, fils, poet Théophile Gautier, composer Jacques Offenbach and poet Alfred de Vigny.

Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, cast in 1922 from a mixed-media sculpture modeled ca. 1879–80, Bronze, partly tinted, with cotton skirt and satin hair ribbon, on a wooden base, Metropolitan Museum of Art

On this day in 1956 sportswoman Mildred Ella “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias died of cancer at the John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, Texas, at the age forty-five. Born on 26 June 1911 in Port Arthur, Texas. She is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Beaumont, Texas.

On this day in 1964, the Warren Commission issued a report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy.

On this day in 1986 Metallica bassist Cliff Burton died when their tour bus crashed in Ljungby Municipality, near Dörarp in rural southern Sweden. Born Clifford Lee Burton on 10 February 1962 in Castro Valley, California. Burton joined Metallica in 1982 and performed on the band’s first three studio albums, Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets. He also received a posthumous writing credit for the song “To Live Is to Die” from the band’s fourth studio album …And Justice For All. The Final Footprint – Burton was cremated and his cremains were scatterd at the Maxwell Ranch. At the ceremony, the song “Orion” was played. The lyrics “…cannot the Kingdom of Salvation take me home” from “To Live Is to Die” are written on Burton’s memorial stone. Perhaps the best-known non-Metallica tribute to Burton is the song “In My Darkest Hour” by thrash metal band Megadeth. According to Dave Mustaine, after hearing of Burton’s death, he wrote the song in Burton’s honour. Mustaine was Metallica’s lead guitarist in the early days and was a close friend of Burton.

On this day in 1998 Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker died as a result of injuries suffered previously in a skiing accident at the age of 71. Born Ewell Doak Walker, Jr. on 1 January 1927 in Dallas, Texas. Walker was cremated and his cremains were scattered on Long’s Peak in Colorado.